[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Political Rights
Al-Masry Al-Youm chief editor, journalists released after questioning over elections coverage Former Al-Masry Al-Youm editor in chief Mohamed Saleh and eight of the newspaper’s journalists were released from custody on Thursday after being questioned by State Security Prosecution on charges of disseminating false news in connection to the newspaper’s coverage of the 2018 presidential elections.
Son claims prison administration refuses to treat Abouel Fotouh’s deteriorating health The health of Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, the head of the Strong Egypt Party and 2012 presidential candidate who has been held in pretrial detention at Tora Prison since February, has deteriorated in past months as the prison administration continues to deny him treatment, according to his son.
Alliance to Support Egypt source: We will change Constitution and Parliament law by October to establish new party The majority parliamentary bloc Alliance to Support Egypt will introduce legislation and constitutional amendments by the start of the 2018/19 legislative session in an attempt to circumvent the constitutional and legal obstacles that stand in the way of establishing its new political party, according to a leading figure in the coalition.
Cybercrime bill nears committee approval with harsher penalties for site admins, protection for bona fides With newly added harsher punishments for website administrators and internet service providers who disclose user data, Egypt’s cybercrime bill is poised for a vote in Parliament, pending official approval by the legislature’s Communication and Information Technology Committee.
Disputed status of Beni Suef church sparks sectarian violence The homes of several Coptic Christians in the Beni Suef village of Beni Menin were set ablaze by Muslim villagers on Monday night in the latest incident of sectarian violence, according to a member of the village.
Egyptian parliament's majority coalition moves to form political party More than 400 members of the majority "Support Egypt" coalition in Egypt's parliament held a meeting on Sunday to probe the possibility of forming a political party.
Network of EgyptAir employees and Cairo Airport officials arrested for bribery, smuggling illegal medications Egypt's Administrative Control Authority on Wednesday arrested a number customs officials at Cairo International Airport and employees of an EgyptAir holding company for alleged involvement in a drug and illegal medication smuggling ring.
Egyptian Teenager Kills Mother and Brother to Complete ‘Blue Whale’ Suicide Game Task A seventeen-year-old student, Shahinaz, has reportedly killed both her mother and brother by setting fire to her family home in Sohag governorate after receiving instructions to do so from the ‘Blue Whale’ suicide game.
Egyptian student dies reportedly of self-poisoning after playing Blue Whale game A sixth-grade student in Egypt’s Beheira governorate in the Nile Delta died in hospital on Thursday after ingesting poisonous grain-storage tablets, a task reportedly assigned to him while playing the suicidal internet Blue Whale game.
30% of high-school students in Egypt suffer psychological problems Egypt's Ministry of Health has released the results of its latest study on the mental health of high school students, indicating that nearly thirty percent of students suffer from physiological problems, with twenty-one percent having experienced suicidal thoughts.
Egypt Faces 54 Billion Cubic Meters Water Shortage: Minister Egypt’s Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atty said that Egypt suffers a shortage of water that reaches fifty-four billion cubic meters, and it needs a total of 114 billion cubic meters in order to cover its needs from water for agricultural, industrial and households needs.
Economy
Real wages for public sector employees drop in FY 2018/19 state budget Public sector employees in Egypt are in line for the largest wage increase they have received in the last four years. However, as these raises fall far below high inflation figures, nearly 5.6 million public sector workers will see a drop in their real incomes and consequently a decrease in their living standards.
Food subsidies to increase by marginal 5% in upcoming state budget as austerity measures continue Food subsidies will increase by a marginal 5 percent in the upcoming state budget for financial year 2018/19, despite the government’s continued implementation of austerity measures designed to rein in its budget deficit.
World Bank, Egypt Sign $US 500 Million Agreement to Reform Egypt’s Public Schools The World Bank and Egypt have signed a 500 million USD agreement in order to reform the education system in Egypt. The agreement aims to improve the learning conditions at public schools of Egypt.
Foreign Relations
MFA slams Shawkan’s potential nomination for UNESCO press freedom award The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization may intend to nominate detained photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (Shawkan) a press freedom prize, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, which condemned the possible nomination in a Sunday statement.
Egypt-EU to sign new energy partnership The European Union is set to sign a strategic partnership agreement on energy with Egypt, 22-24 April, a press release by the European Commission read.
Mariam Moustafa’s Lawyer Receives Death Threat, Pressured to Drop the Case It has emerged that the lawyer, Emad Abu Hussein, who is working on the case of Egyptian Student Mariam Moustafa has received a death threat via a letter sent to his home demanding that he drops the case.
Egypt regrets lack of response from Ethiopia and Sudan to invitation to discuss dam on Friday, says FM Shoukry Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday in a TV interview that Egypt regrets that Ethiopia and Sudan have failed to respond to an invitation by Cairo to meet on Friday to continue talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Ethiopan dam talks: New round, new hope Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri is scheduled to meet his Ethiopian and Sudanese counterparts in Cairo tomorrow for another round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Burundi stands by Egypt in efforts to preserve its water security: Assembly speaker to Egyptian FM Shoukry Burundi will always stand by Egypt in its efforts to preserve its water security, Burundi's President of National Assembly Pascal Nyabenda told Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during a Tuesday meeting in the Burundian capital Bujumbura.
Egypt 'concerned' about military escalation in Syria, Sisi tells France’s Macron President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi expressed Egypt’s concerns over military escalation in Syria to French President Emmanuel Macron when he called al-Sisi to notify him of reasons behind a US-led tripartite military action on Syrian targets last week.
Egypt welcomes N. Korea's freeze on missile and nuclear tests Egypt has welcomed the announcement by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday that the Asian nation plans to freeze its program of ballistic-missile and nuclear tests.
Egypt to discuss with Russia resumption of flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada Egypt will discuss with Russia the resumption of Russian charter flights to the Egyptian tourist resorts of Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada, nearly one week after both countries resumed flights between their capitals.
INTERVIEW: Cypriot President Anastasiades discusses friendship with Egypt's President Sisi, bilateral economic cooperation In an interview with Al-Ahram Al-Arabi weekly magazine, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades praised Egyptian-Cypriot relations and his deep ties with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Egypt's Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhy discusses regional developments with Greek counterpart Egypt's Minister of Defense Sedky Sobhy discussed on Thursday recent developments in the Middle East with his Greek counterpart Panos Kammenos in Cairo, the Egyptian Armed Forces said in a statement.
Domestic Security
Military announces death of Province of Sinai emir Nasser Abu Zaqoul, the emir of the Islamic State-affiliated Province of Sinai, was killed in a shootout with military personnel in central Sinai on Wednesday, according to a statement by Armed Forces spokesperson Tamer al-Rifai.
Egypt refers 6 alleged members of a Daesh-affiliated group to court for targeting churches, military Egypt’s prosecutor-general referred six defendants to the Supreme State Security Emergency Criminal Court on Saturday on charges of creating a Daesh-affiliated terrorist cell.
Terrorist attacks will not deter armed forces from carrying out duties: Egypt's defence minister Egypt’s Defense Minister Sedki Sobhy said on Friday that "vile terrorist attacks" will not stop the Egyptian armed forces from carrying their duties in defending the country.
Arabic
القيمة الحقيقية» لأجور الموظفين تنخفض في موازنة 2018/ 2019» Egypt's 2018/2019 budget will record the highest increase over the past four years with a sharp rise in inflation rates, leading to more decreases in wages of employees in the state sector.
توابع «الدولة تحشد الناخبين».. إخلاء سبيل رئيس التحرير السابق لـ«المصري اليوم» بكفالة 10 آلاف جنيه The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided on Thursday to release the editor of Al-Masry Al-Youm, Mohamed Al-Sayed Saleh, on bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds over charges of publishing false news.
خلاء سبيل 8 صحفيين من «المصري اليوم».. و«صالح» قيد التحقيقات The Supreme State Security Prosecution acquitted eight journalists from Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper on Thursday.
معايير "الأعلى للإعلام": قليل من التنظيم.. كثير من الرقابة The Supreme Media Council issued a bill on the Media Standards Code and the specialized coverage codes, including draft sanctions list to be imposed on violators of these standards in all media outlets.
قصة «المادة 110».. هل يعوق «الدستور» تشكيل «حزب وطني» جديد؟ Masr Al-Arabiya discusses Article 110 of the Egyptian Constitution which hinders the formation of a new political party to back the president's decisions, amid MPs recurring calls to amend the article.
بعد فشل مفاوضات سد النهضة.. كيف تتغلب مصر على أزمة المياه المتوقعة ؟ The article looks into possible alternative solutions for the Egyptian state to reach an agreement with the Nile countries over the Renaissance Dam, following the failure of the latest negotiations held in Sudan.
البرلمان يوافق على «السلك الدبلوماسي» وسط مطالبات نيابية بزيادة المرتبات والمعاشات The parliament approved the amendments to the law of the diplomatic and consular corps, allocating financial benefits for workers in this sector retroactively since June 2015.
البرلمان يوافق نهائيا على قانون التحفظ على أموال الإرهابيين The parliament approved a draft law on the management and disposition of funds of terrorist groups.
غياب الأطباء ونقص المستلزمات.. مهازل الوحدات الصحية مستمرة People in villages are deprived of health services due to the recurring absence of doctors who refuse to work in dire conditions.
أهالي ونواب أسوان يشتكون من تجاهل الحكومة حل مشاكلهم Aswan residents and deputies complained about the marginalization they faced during their meeting with state representatives, calling the state to provide job opportunities for young people after thousands of them lost their jobs due to the decline in tourism activity.
غضب من زيادة رواتب الوزراء: أين الـ200 جنيه علاوة المعاشات؟ Anger soared following the parliament's adoption of the amendments to the law N 100 of 1987 which stated an increase to salaries of ministers after completion of their tenure.
رغم الاعتراضات.. وزير البترول يؤكد رفع الدعم وخصخصة 11 شركة بترولية Despite the economists' objections regarding the lifting of subsidies on fuel and the privatization of public sector companies, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources revealed on the sidelines of the conference of Mooc 2018 held in Alexandria, plans to privatize oil companies.
تصريح سفر: الرحلة العصيبة لمواطن مصري من شمال سيناء إلى القاهرة والعكس Citizens face difficulties to travel outside of Sinai amid the increased security measures since the launch of Sinai Operation 2018.